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Courting disaster

Tragic, reckless and self-destructive  Courtney Love has always been a woman on the edge. Now, as she reveals her years of torment in her journals, she vows never to make a fool of herself publicly again. Chrissy Iley reports

Everything happens on Courtney Love’s bed. It’s a 1920s cherry-wood sleigh with art-nouveau inlay, decadent, plush. It’s covered in blue-grey silk velvet and a mountain of pillows. Her silver laptop has swirls of turquoise and silver crystals. She likes to take care of detail. It’s dark, even though it’s morning in Los Angeles outside. The Office plays on the DVD in silence.

We do the interview stretched out on her bed. She is wearing crepey flares and a black crepe Chloé top, girlie but imposing. Milky breasts threaten to pop out. Between us is a full ashtray; she chain-smokes. She sets aside her knitting – a scarf – and pats for me to join her. Everything happens on this bed. My hairdresser did her hair once, while she was lying there. He said: “Footballers’ Wives was playing. It’s a good thing I do yoga: I had to bend all the way round